


Necessary Repairs

by elfenphoenix



Series: Therilli Lavellan [3]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Cullen Rutherford's Roof, F/M, Fluff, fixing Cullen's roof, group projects, it drives me crazy that it NEVER gets fixed, the fact that there's already a tag for that tells me I'm not the only one with this idea lmao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-20
Updated: 2020-01-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:01:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22338931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elfenphoenix/pseuds/elfenphoenix
Summary: Inquisitor Lavellan gets frustrated by the sorry state of Cullen's bedroom and takes matters into her own hands with a "day off," which is a thinly veiled cover for getting the whole gang together to make some necessary renovations while he's out. "Out" of course meaning that Sera and Cole have been recruited to keep him distracted for as long as possible, which may be a bit more trouble than she bargained for. Especially since it seems like Sera has her own objectives...
Relationships: Female Inquisitor/Cullen Rutherford
Series: Therilli Lavellan [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1606168
Comments: 1
Kudos: 24





	Necessary Repairs

“I will be taking the day off today,” Inquisitor Therilli Lavellan announced to her assembled advisors. “For… personal reasons.” She paused, noting Joesphine’s aghast expression. “Is it really _that_ surprising?”

Josephine collected herself back into her usual picture of poise and grace. “No, I… suppose not. It is simply nothing you’ve ever done before. May I ask what you are planning?”

Therilli glanced shiftily away from both her and Cullen, out one of the windows. “It’s… a construction project. Something that’s been bothering me.”

Josephine opened her mouth to ask for more details, then closed it, shaking her head. “Well, we certainly could not deny you one day’s break, after all the hard work you’ve done for the Inquisition, nor is it our place to question such a small request. We shall resume our work in the meantime. Do enjoy your day off, Inquisitor.”

Cullen, though, looked confused. “What kind of project are you speaking of? The defenses are all fortified, the mages’ tower is completed, and even the training grounds in the courtyard are immaculate. So what--?”

Leliana shot the Inquisitor a coy look and then patted him on the shoulder, waving him toward the door. “Now now, Commander, the Inquisitor should be allowed secrets every now and then, even from you. Have you eaten breakfast yet? We should go get some.”

She half-pushed him toward the door, winking quickly at Therilli as she passed, as if to say _I know what you’re up to._ Which, despite Therilli never having told her… she probably did.

Once the advisors were all gone, Therilli waited for several moments while she listened to their footsteps echo down the hall. Once they had faded away completely, she moved over to the window, pushed it open, and slipped out onto the castle wall, scaling it with relative ease.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Iron Bull was not surprised to see the Inquisitor already at the top of the Commander’s tower when he arrived with the cartload of supplies she had requested of him. Wood for scaffolding, stone for building, metal tools for carving.

She was leaning over a crumbled section of wall, her hands deep in a bucket of liquid stone mixture, listening intently to Varric.

“No no, it can’t be _too_ wet or it won’t stick!”

“Why are you complaining, Varric? You told me yourself you don’t know much more about this stuff than I do,” she shot back. She caught sight of Iron Bull below her as he set the cart down, leaning down towards him from the upper level, hanging out quite a ways from the tower. “Bull! Great, you’re here. Can you toss me that big block? I need a starting point.”

He glanced skeptically at the more than 100 pound block of granite she was pointing to. “You want me… to toss it. To you.”

She grinned, clapping her thin elven arms together eagerly. “Yeah, it’ll be fun! Toss it.”

He shrugged, hauling the block out of the cart and hurling it up to the top of the tower. He half expected it to send her tumbling over the side (he would catch her if that happened, of course), but apparently she’d hooked her knees and ankles into the scaffolding beneath her, because although she made what Josephine or Vivienne would consider an undignified sound upon catching it, she did manage it. The Inquisitor was, as always, easy to underestimate.

“Thanks, Bull! Can you start setting up the construction stairs? Dorian and Solas _said_ they’d help, but I should’ve known--”

“Oh, how little faith in me you have, Inquisitor!” chimed an indignant voice from behind Iron Bull. “You have requested my service to, and I quote, ‘fix Cullen’s fucking roof,’ and here I am. I keep my promises, you know.”

Iron Bull glanced down at Dorian’s perfectly-groomed hair despite the early hour and rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help but grin.

“So you gonna do some weird mage stuff to get those rocks to the top of the tower?” he asked.

Dorian crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. “Why yes, unless you’d like to continue throwing blocks up there one-by-one? We’d be here _all day_ without getting any construction done.”

“Well, be quick about it!” the Inquisitor yelled down, causing both of them to snap to attention. “Sera and Cole can’t distract him forever.”

Iron Bull chuckled. “So _that’s_ where the kids are off to.” He nodded to himself, then clapped a hand on Dorian’s back. “Well, do good work! I’ll be up there to catch anything you miss.”

He strolled forward, even as Dorian scowled at him from behind the moustache, but began sending wood and rock up to the tower as soon as Iron Bull had moved into the tower proper.

From inside, he could hear the frenzy of movement happening above. Dust fell constantly from above as Therilli methodically laid boards in place, nailed them down, and then started laying rock on top of them.

“This’ll be faster if we divide jobs,” she commented to someone next to her. “Why don’t you set down the wood base, and I’ll follow with stone?”

“Yes, Inquisitor,” a gruff voice replied immediately. Ah, so Blackwall was already there. Unsurprising. The man was already as tightly wrapped around Lavellan’s finger as any of them were. Not that he himself was any exception.

“And what is the dwarf doing to help, I wonder?” Iron Bull heard Blackwall gripe as he began climbing the ladder to join them.

“Supervising,” Varric quickly shot back.

“Yes yes,” Therilli replied with an eye-roll. “Oh, Iron Bull, can you start building up the merlons? And helping Dorian get everything up here?”

He grinned to himself, noting her brown hair grayed with stone dust, her hands coated with cement, cracking across her knuckles as it dried, and the self-satisfied smile she wore all the while she worked, practically humming with energy. The Commander was certainly a lucky man.

“Right away, boss.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_I need you to keep Cullen out of his office for as long as possible._

That was what the Inquisitor had told Cole, her eyes bright from the excitement of her plan. _I don’t care_ how, _so long as you’re not actually hurting anyone. Or killing. Since I know those are two different things to you._

Cole looked around the corner to where the Commander was observing a pair of former Templars spar. Distract him? How?

He’d been hesitant to accept at first, until the Inquisitor had confessed that she wanted to fix the man’s roof, but he’d never let her spend the resources and manpower to do so, because there were always “more important things.”

 _But it’s no wonder he can’t sleep when rain and snow can drop straight through the roof onto his bed,_ she’d complained.

“You want to _help?”_ Cole had replied.

_Yes, I want to help him._

At this, Cole had readily agreed to her plan, which led him to where he was now, following the Commander through his day and causing… disruptions any time he indicated that he was thinking of returning to his office.

“Excellent job, Lyten! You have improved a great deal since you first joined the order. I’ll see about forwarding your recommendation to the Inquisitor once I return to my office.”

Oh no… it was time to act.

Cole focused on fading himself out of perception, scattering bits of cheese onto the floor between Cullen and himself, all the while muttering, “the mice like the cheese, which brings the cats, and the cats like to chase the mice. And the mint makes the cats dance, which makes the cook happy.”

There was a sudden cacophony as feline figures emerged from under dining tables, scurrying after barely-visible lumps of fur, cutting right through the legs of various serving maids as they did so, sending one tray of food flying, an Orlesian guest into a screaming fit, and a couple of soldiers up from their meals so quickly that they flipped the table over.

“Oh… this… did not make Madame Eterre happy. I will have to make her forget.”

Fortunately, the commotion had the desired effect on Cullen, who was suddenly trying to calm the screaming lady, right the flipped table, and stop the soldiers from chasing the cats… all at once.

Cole nodded to himself, satisfied. “And the cats make Cullen dance, which makes the Inquisitor happy.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sera was blissfully unaware that she and Cole had _both_ been tasked with distracting Cullen all day, since the Inquisitor knew that her distrust of the spirit made cooperating with him counterproductive.

Besides, all Sera had needed to hear was “I need you to distract Cullen” to be completely, immediately on board. She didn’t need to know who was helping, or why she was doing it. Explicit permission to gently torment the Inquisitor’s precious Cully-wully was all the information she needed.

“Oi, think fast!”

Cullen stopped short at Sera’s call, just in time for an arrow to plunge into the wooden door he had just been about to open.

He gasped, turning back to her with more annoyance than the anger she’d been hoping for. “Please, Sera,” he said wearily, “I am far too busy for games. And I have already had… an interesting day.”

Sera lowered her bow, clicking her tongue in disappointment. “Guess you do have good reflexes, yeah? So what’s the Commander got to do all hurry-like?” she asked, practically skipping over to him.

He eyed her suspiciously. “You’re not going to try giving me a surprise tattoo again, are you?”

Sera snorted. “Nah, not trying _that_ one again, not after that Spymaster caught me. Damn birds. Just thought you’d want to match your darling Inquisitor, y’know?”

“ _I’m_ not Dalish,” he growled, yanking the arrow out of the door and handing it to her.

“Yeah, yeah, Elfy-elf something something. But maybe I was wrong! I wasn’t thinking of what you _really_ want.”

He froze, looking concerned. “I hesitate to ask what it is _you_ think I want.”

She chuckled. “What everyone wants, yeah? Play time. You just won’t do it because you’ve got a big stick up your arse. But I figure, Quizzy likes you, so I should give you another chance. You want to surprise her? I’ve got your back.”

He halted in the doorway, lowering his voice. “ _You_ want to help _me_ romance Inquisitor Lavellan?”

“Yeah! It’ll be fun!”

_Just keep talking, Sera. Don’t let him go through that door. Because through that door is where Therilli’s doing her own disgusting, cute, romantic thing._

He shook his head, pushing through the door again. “I’m sorry, I really don’t have the time. I don’t want anything out of place when Therilli returns from her rare day off.”

“Oh, there it is!”

“W-what?”

“You _do_ call her by her first name! _Nobody_ does that! I totally gotcha! Ha-ha!”

He rolled his eyes, obviously deciding to ignore her. 

_Shite, he’s not taking the bait!_ She panicked internally. _Time for drastic measures!_

“Oh, oh no! I seem to have dropped my newest bomb mixture!” she squeaked, letting a flask fall off her belt as she quickly covered her face with a scarf. “I’m soooo sorry, Commander! At least it wasn’t the jar of bees!”

The glass shattered as it reached the ground, releasing a powerful sleeping gas Sera had only _just_ perfected with the help of the herbs the Inquisitor had gathered throughout Thedas.

She quickly darted away, listening behind her for him to crumple to the ground. Well, unconscious counted as distracted, right? The man always needed a nap, anyway.

A hand on her shoulder almost made her jump out of her skin.

“Sera you… are in so much trouble,” the Commander gasped despite half-lidded eyes.

“Shite, you really are tougher than I thought! That stuff should be able to knock out an _ogre!_ No wonder she’s into you!” She laughed, nervously slipping out from under his sleep-weakened grip.

“Gotta catch me first!”

She dropped another flask, this time a smoke bomb that gave her just enough cover to run away as fast as she could, laughing maniacally as she heard unsteady footsteps not far behind her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So let me get this straight,” Cassandra remarked, glowering down at Varric. “The Inquisitor told Cole and Sera to keep Cullen distracted while the rest of us worked together to repair the tower.”

“Yeah, that about sums it up,” Varric answered casually, though slightly shrinking away from the Seeker’s stern gaze.

“Why is why, in the past hour, we have been working steadily while in the courtyard I have seen a group of guardsman chasing first a group of cats, then a flock of chickens, and then Sera herself, looking rather satisfied with the mischief she’s caused. Are you aware you’ve released chaos onto this fortress?!”

“Now why are you saying that like it’s _my_ fault?! The man’s damn hard to sidetrack!”

“Shhh, guys, shut up and get down!” Therilli urged, grabbing both human and dwarf by the backs of their collars in a gesture that, if attempted by anyone else, would have ended in bloodshed. “He’s looking this way!”

She peeked down through the crenel, then sighed over at Iron Bull. “Your _horns!_ ”

“Oh, sorry boss.” He chuckled, ducking lower.

“I am unsure we’re making Cullen’s day better instead of worse,” Cassandra noted in her full voice, crossing her arms.

Therilli bit her lip, peeking down at the courtyard again, where Cullen was now shouting for Sera to show herself.

“I’m… sure it will be fine.”

There was a crash from what sounded like the Inquisitor’s own room, and she flinched.

“...probably?”

Just as Cullen ran a hand through his hair and stalked off toward the source of the sound, a crow landed on the newly-built wall just in front of Cassandra, cawing at her.

She regarded it, recognizing the bird as Leliana’s favorite. She got to her feet and took hold of it, untied the small slip of paper from its foot, and then let it fly back to the rookery as she unfurled the paper.

“Do not worry so much. The situation is more under control than it looks,” she read out loud, then pinched the bridge of her nose with two fingers, sighing. “Did you get Leliana involved in this too, Inquisitor?”

“Not on purpose!” Therilli squeaked, then quickly gathered her composure. “Well, if Leliana says it’s under control, then there’s nothing to worry about, right?”

Cassandra looked at her for a long moment, then back at Leliana’s message, before finally sighing. “You’re probably right. We should finish what we started.”

“Yeah, Seeker, no slacking off!” Varric jeered from a safe distance.

“ _You_ are as complicit in this chaos up here as if you caused it yourself!”

“What, how?!”

Therilli interrupted them, patting them both on the back. “Now now, children, no fighting! We’re almost done!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Cullen arrived at the Inquisitor’s room, he hesitated, but the door was wide open and, upon going up the stairs, Sera could be seen sitting calmly on the edge of the bed, looking entirely pleased with herself and unconcerned about the misery she’d put him through the entire day.

“ _YOU,”_ he growled, stepping quickly toward her looking out for arrows, bees, potions, chickens-- anything else she’d been using against him all day. It was amazing that no one had been hurt. 

But her potions belt was missing, she was unarmed, and her hands were empty. She was just… sitting there, looking satisfied with herself. It was more suspicious than anything, especially considering nothing in the room looked disturbed, so he had no idea what had caused the crash..

“Oh _there_ you are! I’ve been trying to get you here all day!”

 _“Why?”_ he asked, still scanning the walls for traps. 

“Look, making you look human all day has been a riot, but I don’t actually hate you. Just wanted to help you go to the next step with Therilli. She’s waiting. Won’t say it, but she is. You like her, she likes you, so you make her happy, yeah? That part, I’m on board with. Keep making her happy and you and me? We’re good.”

Cullen frowned, brushing chicken feathers off of his shoulders. “What does that have to do with bringing me here, the Inquisitor’s _private_ quarters?” 

“Because you’re the _only one_ who never comes in here!” Sera laughed, getting up and walking to the center of the room, opening her arms grandly to gesture at all around them. “Quizzy’s got an open-door policy, y’know? We all come in here to hang out, chat when we feel like it. Makes the place feel like home.” 

She paused, pointing at the painting on the wall of the room’s second floor. “See that? Baldy painted that, chatting away with Quizzy about some ancient elfy shite. You got lucky with that one, because he _obviously_ likes her. And that wardrobe? Full of clothes that bitch Vivienne picked out for her in Orlais. Almost never wears them because she’s always got armor on, but… y’know. They’re there. The fancy rug? Josephine. The books? Varric and Dorian. Weird owl carvings? Blackwall. Even that lute isn’t hers-- it’s Leliana’s-- and that puzzle box is mine.”

She pointed at each object in turn, then frowned, looking around the room for something else. “Oh yeah, and Iron Bull gave her that freaky-looking tankard. Been tempted to take that one myself when I’m in here.” She laughed, then came back to him, eyebrow raised. “See, we’re all in here, even when we’re not. But _you’re_ the one she’s on top of, and you’re not in here at all, not even a little bit.”

He felt his face heat up, suddenly feeling the urge to escape from Sera rather than capture her. “ _Please_ do not say it that way.”

“What, that she’s on top? You ‘spect me to believe it’s the other way around?”

He elected to ignore that last comment. “I do not come in here because it would be… indecent of me. A woman’s quarters should not be entered so casually.”

“Awww, look at you, all shy and shite. Have you ever actually been with someone before? No wait, don’t answer that-- obviously a no. Look, all this rules-rules-dignity-decency shite is all real noble, but it’s not really _her_ , is it? She strolls right into your office all the time, enough to know your bedroom is _sad_ . But _you_ take one step in _here_ and you’re shy as a kitten! Oh now I really want to see how you look in a brothel.”

“It’s not my favorite experience, I assure you.”

Sera’s eyes sparkled, and she let out a rapid laugh. “Oh man, saving _that_ one for later.”

She gave him a solid smack behind the shoulder blades and waved her other arm at the room. “Go ahead and take a look-see, yeah? If you do get in trouble, you can just blame me. Everyone else does.”

He frowned, but couldn’t help but look around at the furnishings. Now that Sera had said something, he could see much of Therilli’s inner circle influencing the room, but much of the rest of it was _her_ . The coal and wood in front of the fireplace, indicating that she tended it herself. The light smell of wild rosemary permeating the place. The halla statue decorating the mantle, and even the Dalish-styled stained glass windows still open to the balcony, letting fresh mountain air into the room. All so much _her_ it made his heart ache.

“I… should not be in here. Not without her,” he suddenly realized. “Does she really not lock the door when she leaves?”

“Oh she does, but I’m Red Jenny, remember?” Sera jeered, producing a pair of thin metal wires from under her tongue and waving them with a grin. “It’s not that tough a lock. Should probably get her a better one.”

He shook his head, turning back to the stairs. “You are nothing but trouble.”

“If it makes you feel better, I don’t actually know where the chickens came from. Well, I know where they _came_ from, but not why they were running around. Sorry about almost knocking you out, though. That one’s my bad,” Sera said cheerily, following him down the steps. “And hey, coming in here the first time’s the hardest, so coming to visit her next time should be a cinch! Can’t do much sleeping in _your_ room, after all.”

“Why are you concerned with my sleeping conditions?” Cullen asked, turning to look up the stairs at Sera. 

She avoided his gaze, clearing her throat. “It’s just sad, is all. Look, _I_ sleep in the second floor of a tavern, but even my room’s nice and cozy compared to yours. She worries about you, y’know? Maybe you should let her.”

He sighed. “Alright, alright, I’ll see what I can do, if it means you won’t spend an entire day tormenting me again. You’ve made your point.”

“Great!”

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must get _some_ work done.”

“Wait no!” Sera shouted, running down the stairs after him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Oh, it looks simply _darling_ ,” Vivienne remarked, handing the exhausted Inquisitor a goblet of wine. “I had underestimated your good taste, I must admit. Simple, perhaps, but it is for a Ferelden Commander, not an Orlesian noble.”

Therilli accepted the goblet, deciding not to mention Vivienne’s conspicuous absence during the entire construction process, only showing up to quickly rid the rooms below of dust with a wave of her hands, then critique the design.

After downing the whole thing, Therilli turned to survey the group’s work. “I wanted to use the same materials Skyhold had been built from as much as possible. I’m no mage, but even I can sense that there’s some magic to this place-- I didn’t want to disrupt it. That, and Cullen didn’t want me to use Inquisition resources on him. So I had the boys go gather materials from around the mountain as a personal request. Well… pretty much all of it was a personal request.”

Vivienne laughed. “Your stubbornness is a good fit for that man. And the rest are loyal to you to the point of foolishness. I must admit, despite your claims to despise it, you are a truly impressive player of the Game.”

Therilli grimaced, which only made Vivienne laugh again. “I brought you what you requested, my dear. The others are downstairs arguing where to put it.”

“Which is beneath you, of course.”

“Of course. Have a good night, my dear.”

Vivienne stepped away, disappearing down the ladder to the lower floors while Therilli remained on the top of the tower, staring out at the sunset and reaching up to pull the pins out of her hair, little by little letting it tumble down her shoulders so she could shake the stone dust out of it. When it was finally flowing freely in the breeze, she looked over the spiral design of the floor her team had so carefully put together, a detail that separated this tower’s construction from anywhere else in the fortress, still visible in the rich red-orange of dusk.

She was proud of her team, her companions, and glad that they were so willing to help her with something so unrelated to their own objectives. She… loved all of them, she thought, even as she continued to listen to them bicker below her.

Differently from how she felt about Cullen, certainly, but it would be reductive to call it anything less than love. They, with all of the personal problems, fighting, gambling, and laughter that came with them, had each come to occupy a little piece of her heart, so that no matter what new crises she had to face, it always felt full.

A voice erupted next to her, appearing so suddenly that she dropped her empty goblet off of the tower, plummeting hundreds of feet below.

“Inquisitor! I’m sorry, I’ve done my best, but I don’t think I can distract him any longer!” Cole blurted while Therilli hurried to regain her composure.

“Stop _doing_ that, Cole!” she shouted, trying to piece together what he’d said. “And what about Sera?”

“She’s done well, too. I questioned her methods at first-- I thought someone would get hurt. But I understand now.”

“No, I mean… well that’s good I guess. I mean-- not what I meant, Cole! Is she still distracting him?!”

“No, I’m sorry. Once he decided he was going to go looking for you, there was nothing we could do to stop him. He’ll be here soon.”

Therilli took a deep breath, setting a hand on his shoulder. “It’s alright, Cole. No need to apologize-- you’ve done more than enough. We’re finished with the roof, as you can see. So thank you for all that you’ve done.”

He smiled, tentatively accepting her praise, then quickly vanished, leaving Therilli to wonder if she’d actually spoken to him at all.

No wait, Cullen was still definitely returning!

She hurried down the ladder to where the assembled companions were toasting their work over flagons of whatever strange liquid Iron Bull had given them. Strong stuff, too, because Dorian was already leaning heavily against Bull’s shoulder, looking half unconscious.

Upon her descent, Iron Bull raised his flagon to her. “To the Inquisitor!”

“To the Inquisitor!” they all cheered.

“Yes, yes, thank you. I appreciate your work. But it’s time to go to bed now, alright? Cullen’s coming back, and he’s probably not in the best mood.”

Cassandra lowered her flagon, which was barely emptied, Therilli could tell from the sound, and nodded. “Yes, as I was saying, we should not overstay our welcome.”

Despite some grumbling and the laughter over Dorian needing to get carried out the door, the group dispersed, leaving Therilli alone in Cullen’s now-cozy office, complete with extra bookshelves, a storage chest, and a fireplace, should he choose to use it.

The most special piece was an enormous map of Thedas, much like the one on the wartable. But this one was cloth, and painted in Orlesian style with a patient, artful hand. It was lovely, as much as it was useful. It was upon which wall to hang it that Therilli’s companions had been arguing the most. 

Finally, the door creaked open, and Cullen, missing one of his gloves, stepped inside with a relieved sigh, leaning his head back against the wood as he shut it behind him. When he opened his eyes and saw her, his expression softened. “There you are.”

“Here I am,” Therilli replied with a slight smile. 

He sighed, moving over to her and pulling her into his arms, breathing deeply into the crook of her neck. “I’ve been made a fool of all day, and have not been able to complete even a bit of work. I’m... sorry.”

Therilli pulled away from him, looking up at his face. “Why are _you_ apologizing?”

“I… never want you to worry about me, whether I can keep up with what you need. But I see that is impossible.”

Finally, he looked up, noticing the differences in his office. He took it all in, then looked back at her, realization dawning across his face. “You… your construction project… it was _here_?”

Therilli shrugged, leaning against his desk and gesturing upwards. “I was mostly worried about _that_. But it’s fixed now. You… can feel comfortable here. It… can be home for you. Although you can always stay in my room instead. There’s plenty of room. Almost too much,” she added, finishing it with a nervous laugh.

“Is that what this has been about?” Cullen asked, still seeming overwhelmed with all of the pieces coming together. “It was _you._ Leliana insisting to eat breakfast together, Sera pestering me all day… it was to keep me away from here. Because… you were worried I didn’t feel at home?”

Therilli bit her lip, cringing at the thought of Sera joyfully putting him through the ringer. She supposed she should have put a _few_ more rules in place before setting the rogues free on him. “You… always take care of me. I just… wanted to take care of you for once. I hope Sera and Cole didn’t make your day _too_ miserable.”

He shook his head, still incredulous. “Well, I would be lying if I said that it’s been my favorite of days, but…” he moved over to her again, running his fingers through her hair, so gently it sent shivers through her scalp and down her spine. “But I cannot be angry at you, after all that I have learned today. Your… companions care about you a great deal. Frighteningly so. You certainly collect a powerful, if odd, array of people around you.”

“They helped, you know. Because I made them, of course, but they did.” She sighed, tossing her hair back dramatically. “I have become far too powerful for my own good, I swear.”

She quickly pulled herself upwards and gave him a kiss before smirking up at him coyly. “Of course, it’s your bedroom that’s changed the most. You might even be able to have… a guest up there now. Without her waking up to snow on her face.”

He laughed, looking down at her with an eyebrow raised. “Even in kindness, you are determined to ruin everything noble in me, aren’t you?”

She grinned, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pulling him into another kiss. “Absolutely. That was my plan all along. I will pour so much love into you that it overflows, and lyrium has no place. And the nosy brat listening at the door knows that, too.”

From behind the door, she heard Sera groan. “I _knew_ you’d find out. You _are_ freaky good that way.” Her footsteps receded a bit before she called out from just over the wall. “You _owe_ me, Therilli! That was _way_ more work than it was supposed to be!”

There was a thump as, presumably, Sera jumped down into the courtyard below, and then Therilli and Cullen were alone again, genuinely so this time.

“Maybe I _will_ visit your bedroom instead,” he suggested, which caused Therilli to break away from him in surprise.

“You will?!”

He ran a hand through his hair in embarrassment. “Well, it seems I’m the only one who doesn’t. Not… in a private… personal way. Not that I mean anyone else is. I’m not accusing you of anything, I just…”

Therilli rolled her eyes, kissing him again.

“Ugh, you worry too much. You’re _absolutely_ welcome in my room. In a personal way.” She grinned, adding, “though it seems I must first change my locks.”

**Author's Note:**

> *Therilli saying “now now children” to both Varric and Cassandra shows a lot of courage on Therilli’s part, since she is only 28 and thus about a decade younger than both of them :P
> 
> *I imagine in any relationships, Sera happily assumes a younger-sister role. I headcannon her as one of the few people who actually calls the Inquisitor by her first name because of that. It is actually VERY important to her that the Inquisitor is genuinely happy, which she ensures by forcing her love interests to go through some… rigorous testing. If she approves of you afterwards, you can assume she has your back in the relationship. If not...


End file.
